Shoe sole



May 3 1949 w. J. I UTEY 2,468,886

SHOESOLE File@ May 24, 1947 l,

Patented May 3, 1949 TfsEfD STATES PAT E N T O F FICE .SHOE SOLE William J. Lutey,'Seat.tle, Wash.

Application May 24, 1947;Serial No. '750,181

( Cl. '3G- 29) .5 Claims.

:1 'rThis -yinvention relates to improvements in shoes, and it -isvv in the-nature of an improvement vilpon, .andan .addition to, the. invention that has been described and illustrated in my co-pending application-filed on September 26,.,1945, under f {Seria} ANo. 'f61 8,689,noW -Patent No. 2,434,770, v-l 1er.einIy describedland illustrated a :novel` form eoifcushioning, :antieskidfand Wear resisting tread for fwooclen I soled-shoes.

L-Explanato1fywto vthe present invention, Vit Will :.hererbe. stated'thatJ in the above mentionedpatentf the v:tread member'wasfdescribed as being made from a continuous. strip. of1 resilient,- Wear resisting and antiesk-id' material, helicallymound :into-an open, continuousl coil, lthe coilbeing laid :and Y secured *.within', ra groove or channel that .is wformedinl the-.underf'suriace ofA the `Wooden sole ".ofrthershoe. V'The-diarneter'fof the` co,ilin such 4ausefis such,that .the coil;fvvhenlaidinto the-,channel,-extends :beyond the =zsurface..of the `solera. ssubstantialf.-distance,

:Replacement .z of `.,thef,coil, -when Worn, Wasi not-y originally. intended, .fon-.in fact, it would be quite a diicult.. task..to. remove f. the morn.- coil #because-` of Iitsrmethod of secure- ,ment Furthermore,1 replacement .strips `are. not ,fprovidedl for this:.purpose .and would,..hav.e .tobe especially-.made

:In View ofthe aboves and .also in view. of., the .factwthat .-a wooden; shoe sole will vordinarily outlivefseveral .ofthe treadssasabovef described,

.r .it ,has "been, the -.principale obj ect of this invention ato .provide replacement. treads `that can be ,easily and. readilwappliedby the. shoe user, 4or .by an .-.unskilledfworkman .upon.,.the removal of..a Worn tread from the-shoe.

fMore specifically yfstated, :.the -..object of f, this :invention to provideffamovel. form` =of..,mount ,..ingf,plate, land, atpracticaly means. for .the securement of a stnipofwwearfresistingantieskidmate- 3 rial thereto, zand also.1to.provde,a.f.base member ...that may :be .l permanently secured to the shoe ,-aaililcil.,tov4 which l thus plate,` Vequipped ...withthe ,strip rotanti-skid lmaterial maybe. removablyA secured, so .that -swhen ...the strip vbecomes .worn and re- ,.placement--isz desiredthe ,useriof .the shoe may reasily. and. readilyv .perform kthis Awork.

Still furtherA objects of ,theinvention reside tin...iahe-,deiails-of` constructionof parts; in the ,r-,ombination of parts and in y,their Inoden of use as will hereinafter be fully described.

.'I-neaccomplishingthese andother .objects of the-invention, I havel .provided thegimprovedwdef-tailsfofgconstruction the preferred yfor-ms .oiwliich are :wall illustrated :in the -eaccompa-nyi-ng #drawwherein- Fig.1,.is a sideV View ofa shoe that is equipped AWith replaceable `.tread members in accordance wththe teaching vof the present invention.

..Fig...2 is an underside View of the shoe, showingtread members as applied to the sole 4and `heel portions thereof.

Fig. 3 yis .an enlarged, cross-sectional Niew,

tionshi-p.

,Referring moreA in7 detail to the drawings. Inf Fig. .1, I have .designated a shoe. in. its .en-

tiretyby reference. numeral I0. This shoe comprises a ,sole 4portion Il, and a heel portionJZ to rWhich the. usual .upper I3 vof leather, orother vsuitable material, is secured in the usual vmanner. H'Ihe soleand heel portions might .be made of leathen( or they mightbe, of Wood, -as were these parts ,of the shoe 1which was illustratediin my afore mentionedpatent. In theevent that `woodensoles-.are used, it is anticipated .that a hinge connection may beprovided betweenithe vheel and sole portions, in the shank portionmas has been Vindicated at I4 in lig..1,ar1d` that the Wparts Il and I2 be connected acrossthe hinge jointby a llexible strap I5 as shownin Fig. 2.

'In the afore mentioned patent, the .spirally "formed coils werey permanently fixed in channels in .the yWooden Vsole member, and in lthe `heel member. Thepresent invention contemplates, as'thevpreferred construction, use of a tread .unit comprising a'base plate, which is to be ,perinanently attached to the sole or heel of the shoe, and replacement tread members that may The tread unit for thesole, comprised bythe Ypresent invention,.is designated in its entirety by numeral kll Vand the tread unit `for. the heel is designated in its entiretyby reference numeral I1. ,These tread unitsare substantially alike# in their 1general elements Aof construction but'they 'differ in shape primarilybecause of the differ- 'ence in shape of thevparts to which theyare y"lllllfllied Each unit comprises a base member, -an'da 'removable tread member.

A cross sectional View of the tread yunit applied vto the-sole would::bea-.almost-identical tothat of the heel as .showngin-Fig 3. Therefore, it: is tobe--under- E50 :stood 'that the `following description of Y the -heel :tread unit l 'lf-will apply equallyfto the tread "unit ,-'lBf-'thatrisfapplied to thesole. l

They heel treadunit comprisesfa base plateez ,Whichf.con-forms,zas seenin Fig. .2, tothe. dimensions of the ,-heel :portion f I 2 to which Vit is secured. This base plate might be stamped from sheet metai, but preferably would be cast of aluminum, or other suitable metal that is light in weight, and it is intended that it be applied flatly against the bottom surface of the heel i2 and permanently secured thereto; for example, by means of tacks El as shown in Fig. 3.

The base plate 25, whether die stamped or cast, is formed about its peripheral portion with a continuous downwardly opening channel 30 of substantial Width. The tacks 2l which secure the base plate to the heel l2 preferably are driven into the heel through holes 3|, provided in the bottom of this channel, and best shown in Fig. 4.

It is shown in Fig. 3, that a recess 32 of substantial size is formed on the top side of this base to reduce the weight of the piece; however, this provision of a recess is not essential to use of the plate.

In order that the anti-skid, resilient, wear resisting element, comprised by the spirally wound strip of material designated by numeral 4B, may be easily and readily removed for replacement when worn, the member Ml is alxed as presently explained to a mounting plate that is designated in its entirety by numeral i5. This plate is shown in Fig. 4 as disassembled from its base member 25. The plate d5 has a central porti-on d5@ that is designed to flatly overlie the central portion of the base member that is located within the continuous channel. The edge portions of the plate, designated by 45h, are bent downwardly irto the channel close to the inner side walls thereof and then are turned out as a ilange 45o that closely overlies the nat bottom surfaces of the channel, as has been clearly shown in Fig. 3.

At regularly spaced intervals along the flange 45C, are outwardly extending wings i9, each of which has a part thereof, 593, adapted to be folded back over the body portion as a securing clip for a loop of the spirally wound strip lll).

The strip la is preferably a continuous strip of rubberized fabric of uniform width. Such a strip is quite satisfactory if it is one-half inch wide and adapted to be formed into a helix or coil that may be set down into the channel as in Fig. 3. To assemble this strip @El with its plate 45, one end of the strip would rst be secured between the body portion and back turned portion of one of the wings fig, for example, as at 5dr in Fig. 3, then the strip would be formed into a helix or coil and with the forming of the successive loops or convolutions, it would be laid across the body portions of the successive wings 49, and, as each loop is laid across a wing, the clip portion 50 of the wing would be bent upwardly and back to grip and hold the strip. Thus, with the wings properly spaced, a continuous, closed coil as shown particularly in the sole portion of the shoe in Fig. 2, may be formed.

After a strip Ml has thus been secured to its mounting plate 45, the plate may be applied to the base member 25 and secured by one or more screws 60 passed through the middle portion of the plate and threaded into the base member 25 as Shown best in Fig. 3.

When it is desired to replace a tread member, the screws 6i? are removed, the worn member M), together with its mounting plate 5, is lifted out and a new tread member put in its place. It is not the intent that a new strip i3 be applied to an old plate, although this could be done.

The only difference between the tread member as applied to the sole and that applied to the heel is the difference in size by reason of the different dimensions of the sole and heel; the base member of the unit applied to the sole naturally would be curved to conform to the curva.- ture of the sole, and the plate `l5 of the tread member would have more attaching screws, as has been illustrated in Fig. 2.

With the shoe so equipped, it will be understood that the life of the shoe will be extended indefinitely. Such replacement members may be made in standardized sizes for shoes of different size and may be applied either to leather soled or wooden soled shoes.

It is anticipated that the present -replacement tread members might also be applied to wooden soled shoes as provided with channels as shown in my co-pending application. In such case, the base members, as used in the present instance would not be required, but the tread members, comprising the plates 45 with resilient strip attached, would be applied directly to the wooden sole and heel portions of the shoe, and secured by short screws driven into the sole or heel p0rtions.

It is also to be understood, that in the use of such replacement tread members, I do not wish to be restricted to the particular form of helically wound strip, but anticipate that various forms of strips, either solid, coiled, or in separate pieces, might be secured to the plate, to be seated and held thereby in the channels and serve the same purpose as the helically wound strip shown in the present drawings.

Shoes equipped with treads of this kind are especially desirable for use by persons working on concrete floors, such as in cold storage plants, or in other places where the floors are apt to be slippery or cold. The tread not only adds life to the shoe but prevents slipping, adds comfort and keeps the shoe out of the dampness of the floor.

Having thus described my invention, whatli claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters-Patent is:

1. A tread for shoes and the like comprising a base member having a continuous, downwardly opening channel formed therein about its peripheral portions and a replacement tread member comprising a flat metal plate adapted to be disposed against the island portion of said base member that is enclosed within the continuous channel, means for detachably securing the said plate to the island portion; said plate having its peripheral portion bent upwardly into the channel adjacent its inner wall and formed with a horizontal flange that overlies the base surface of the channel and a resilient tread strip fixed on said flange and held seated in said channel thereby and extending from the channel beyond the undersurface of the base member.

2`. A tread as recited in claim 1 wherein the peripheral portions of said plate of the replacement tread member are bent to extend into the said channel and are formed with anges adapted to closely overlie the bottom surface of the channel, and wherein the said tread strip comprises a continuous strip of resilient material, formed into a helical coil and attached to said flanges to lie within the channel and to extend from the channel beyond the under surface of the base member.

3. A tread unit for shoes and the like, comprising a base member adapt-ed for fixed securement to the bottom of the shoe and having a downwardly opening channel formed therein and a replacement tread member comprising a plate adapted to be detachably secured to the bottom of the base member and havingan upturned peripheral portion extended into the said channel closely along the inner wall thereof t0 adjacent the bottom surface thereof, and then formed with a flange that overlies the bottom of the channel, and a resilient tread member xed to the anged portion `of the plate and held thereby in the channel and extending fr-om the channel beyond its under surface and limited in lateral spreading by the outer wall of the channel and the upturned peripheral portion of the plate.

4. A tread unit for shoes and the like, comprising a base member adapted to be tted to the shoe bottom and to be permanently secured thereto; said base member having a continuous channel formed therein about its peripheral portion; and a replacement tread member comprising a :dat plate fitted atly to the bottom surface of the base member within the continuous channel, and screws removably applied through said plate and into said base member for securement of the plate thereto; said plate having its peripheral portions bent upwardly to lie against the near channel wall, and then outwardly flanged to closely overlie the channel bottom, and a resilient tread strip, formed into a helix and disposed in said channel about the plate and permanently xed to said flanged portion within the base of the channel; said strip extending outwardly from the channel as a cushioning, anti-skid tread member and removable from the shoe with the removal of the plate.

5. In a tread of the character described, a replacement tread member comprising a mounting plate having a peripheral flange with wings extending outwardly therefrom at regularly spaced intervals, and a tread comprising a continuous strip of resilient material, wound into an open helical coil, and applied lengthwise about the said plate overlying said wings; each of said wings having a part thereof bent over and against a part of the helically wound strip to secure it to the Wing.

WILLIAM J. LUTEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 674,313 Furness et al May 14, 1901 FOREIGN PATENTS Number- Country Date 14,955 Great Britain June 9, 1894 292,010- Germany May 19, 1916 

